For the first time they can recall, several independent broker-dealers have been solicited by life settlement companies to sell private placements of securities based on life insurance policies.
Rumors have been flying of late that Fidelity Investments may be looking to expand its proprietary exchange-traded-fund lineup. Now sources say the firm has been ramping up talks with index providers and other partners to do just that.
Tighter regulation of sales, more mergers and continued capital building are three developments insurance carriers are likely to experience in 2010.
Sales of fixed annuities fell during the third quarter to $21.9 billion, a 21% decline from a year earlier, according to data from Beacon Research Publications Inc.
Listen to Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer with Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc., offer predictions for stock market returns in this one-on-one podcast interview with InvestmentNews senior editor Jeff Benjamin.
A stalled proposal hammered out last year to permit exchange traded funds to operate without having to obtain individual exemptive orders may finally see the light of day -- and soon.
This month's Featured Fund of the Month is the Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG, $54.90 at close of business on March 11, 2010), which carries Standard & Poor's highest ETF ranking of “Overweight.”
That's good news for advisers, many of whom are on the lookout for exchange-traded funds that aren't passively managed
The firm announced plans for a new core line up of exchange-traded funds based on Wilshire Associates' indexes.
Despite getting smaller, Royal Bank of Scotland still has some very big problems. Bad loans and a shaky economy top the list. Turning a profit? That's still a ways off.
The BrightScope 401(k) plan ratings service is skewering the Investment Company Institute over its defense of target date funds.
The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, released today, shows a mixed picture: Some metro markets are improving, others are still searching for a bottom, and prices are down an average 0.2% in November across 20 metropolitan markets.
In another sign that the commercial property market may have bottomed out, the Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index showed a 1% gain in November.
Hedge funds are losing talent to university endowments, sovereign wealth funds and even to the Securities and Exchange Commission, of all places, according to a survey released this week by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Hedge fund industry performance in 2009 was the best in a decade, according to Hedge Fund Research. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index returned 20.04% for the year ended Dec. 31, the industry's highest since the 31.29% return of the index in 1999.
Just days after its acquisition by Guggenheim Partners LLC was finalized, Claymore Securities Inc. has rolled out a new China exchange-traded fund – a launch that will likely be just the first of many, now that the Claymore/Guggenheim marriage is official.
The BrightScope 401(k) plan ratings service is skewering the Investment Company Institute over its defense of target date funds.
Oklahoma State University's athletic fund and Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. are embroiled in a legal flap over a failed funding plan for charitable insurance.
The Vanguard Group Inc. today changed the benchmarks for ten stock sector index mutual funds and corresponding exchange-traded funds from their old MSCI indexes to new MSCI 25/50 benchmarks. Those benchmarks are designed to meet IRS standards for registered investment companies.
